Hailstorms in nineteenth century Maitland
Maitland is well known for its floods: indeed it can be said to be one of the most severely flood-liable cities in Australia. But it is prone to severe thunderstorms too, especially in the warmer months, and the Maitland Mercury has always given such events substantial coverage. During the nineteenth century, detailed accounts of the nature of individual storms and the damage they wrought were standard fare in the paper.
Three nineteenth century storms, on 4 January 1861, 29 December 1873 and 6 March 1896, were particularly noteworthy for their ferocity and for the detail of the reporting on them. After these storms, Mercury reporters roamed the areas affected to compile assessments of the types and degrees of damage experienced. They also interviewed people who had suffered losses.
A lightning bolt. One of these killed William Mannell at Dunmore in January 1861. In November 2020, five people were injured by a single bolt of lightning at Pokolbin.
(Photograph by Ireland)
1861
The 1861 storm approached Maitland from the west. It brought powerful downbursts of wind and large hail, stones the size of pullets’ eggs. As is often true with downbursts, the damage was uneven because the downbursts ‘touched down’ with great power and then released, producing a damage pattern resembling the dotted line in the middle of a modern road. Some localities were hard hit but others largely escaped. Campbells Hill suffered badly, some of the western part of High St less so. Eastern High St and East Maitland saw severe damage as did the farming areas of Fishery Creek, Louth Park, Oakhampton and Dunmore (where a man was killed by a lightning bolt).
Literally thousands of window panes were smashed in houses, shops, churches and other buildings, mainly on their western and south-western sides. Roofs were ripped off and ceilings collapsed from the weight of hail and rainwater. The ridge capping of the West Maitland Court House was torn off. On the farms, fruit trees were stripped and vines, vegetables and corn crops destroyed. Pigs were killed by hailstones; one horse was stunned by a blow to the head and another lost an eye.
1873
The 1873 visitation came, as is common, at the end of a hot day on which the temperature exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38C). Strong southerly winds and large, jagged hailstones, some as big as oranges, struck shortly after 4pm. Most houses in West Maitland were in the storm’s path and suffered damage with slate roofs cracked, window panes smashed and verandahs torn off. Trees were felled and gardens damaged, peach and nectarine trees stripped of fruit by the hail and some uprooted by the wind. Vines were reduced to bare stalks.
In High St the Olympic Theatre was partially unroofed, iron being hurled long distances and damaging dwellings. East Maitland suffered damage to churches and a school. Many rural areas including Bolwarra, Largs, Dunmore, Woodville, Wallalong and Millers Forest sustained damage to grain and fruit crops, and haystacks were blown away. The Mercury concluded that ‘The District is now several thousands of pounds poorer than it was a few days ago.’
1896
The 1896 storm came from the south, bringing strong winds, hailstones more than 2 inches (5 centimetres) across in some places and intense rain -more than an inch (25mm) in 10 minutes at the Telegraph Office in High St. Telegraph poles were downed, fences damaged and crops ruined. Houses, sheds and stables were unroofed and windows broken, and the contents of dwellings were damaged. Louth Park and the Chinese vegetable gardens next to the Showgrounds suffered particularly badly.
There was flash flooding. Water ponded by the railway embankment entered nearby houses.
A large hailstone. Hailstones the size of grapefruit have been recorded in New South Wales.
Now v then
Maitland has experienced many events like these over the decades, and every summer it sees a number of events which can be called ‘severe’ in that they meet the Bureau of Meteorology’s criteria for that word to be applied. Hailstones expected to exceed 2cm in diameter, for example, trigger a ‘Severe Thunderstorm Warning’ which is intended to be broadcast over radio stations serving the areas of likely impact.
In the 1800s, of course, there were no formal warnings of storms and most people were probably unaware of the signs provided by nature. A green tinge in the sky, for example, often heralds a coming hailstorm containing large stones.
Most nineteenth century dwellings lacked robustness against the elements by comparison with today’s houses. Costly repairs were thus frequently needed. Worse yet, recourse to insurance to recoup the damage done to dwellings was not available: the insurance industry in those days was focused on fires in commercial premises rather than storm damage affecting residential properties.
References
Keys, Chas ‘Our Past: Ferocious thunderstorms with hail the size of pullets’ eggs’, Maitland Mercury, 26 February 2021.
Maitland Mercury.
